Almost ready: a carriage fit for a queen

A royal time capsule the coach Jim Frecklington is building
for the Queen incorporates relics both biblical and historical.Photo: Peter Morris

Linton BesserMay 23, 2007

IT WAS meant to be a present in honour of the Queen's 80th
birthday, but she is now over 81, and it is not yet
gift-wrapped.

"Just a few more months," insists Jim Frecklington, the die-hard
monarchist behind the grand and unusual royal offering.

By then, he says, a fragment of rock prised from the biblical
Stone of Destiny will add the finishing touch to his masterpiece,
the $1.5 million State Coach Britannia.

The stone, reputedly from the pillow upon which Jacob laid his
head as told in Genesis, and part of Westminster Abbey's Coronation
Throne, will take pride of place in the Queen's latest toy. And if
a jewel-encrusted stagecoach, replete with silk-upholstered
interior and diesel-powered climate control, sounds like a fine
present, we can all take a bow.

After the Federal Government put $245,000 towards the coach in
December, it emerged during Monday night's Senate estimates that
taxpayers will also pay for it to be flown to London. By the time a
few royal fillies trot it out of Buckingham Palace, the Australian
public's contribution to Mr Frecklington's labour of love could
total $350,000. The Manly coach builder and estate agent, who has
mortgaged his house for the project, believes the freight should
not cost more than $50,000.

The Labor senator John Faulkner was scathing. "The department
[of Prime Minister and Cabinet] couldn't care less it was going to
pay up to $350,000 for an 80th birthday present for the Queen and
didn't give a damn whether she got it when she was 90." But
Mr Frecklington can only loyally enthuse about the coach's
historical value.

"The Queen is our Queen, and I think she sets a wonderful
example," he said. "Quite often countries give gifts and gestures
of goodwill between nations.

"[And] the Queen classifies the coaches as works of art." But
for Mr Frecklington the coach is a historical monument. "This is a
time capsule that goes back almost 4000 years."

The passenger doors are inlaid with wood from Henry VIII's
flagship, the Mary Rose, the Tower of London and St Paul's
Cathedral. Even Admiral Nelson's golden crown, rescued from the
battle of Trafalgar, rides atop the roof, although here there is a
hint of the modern world.

"A camera will go up there for the BBC," Mr Frecklington beamed.
"So you can be home watching the TV and see what happens when the
coach travels."